David's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 01 Jan 2025 10:57:23 -0800 60 David's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Clockwork Heart (Clockwork Heart, #1)]]> 2693142 390 Dru Pagliassotti 0809572567 David 0 3.77 2008 Clockwork Heart (Clockwork Heart, #1)
author: Dru Pagliassotti
name: David
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk, to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Golden Heart (Lazarus Longman Chronicles, #1)]]> 25371011
The North American continent has been torn apart by civil war. Steam-powered behemoths stalk the landscape, dirigibles prowl the skies and society stands on the back of a new class of slaves known as ‘mechanicals�. The conflict between the Union and the Confederacy has dragged on for twenty-five years with neither side coming close to victory. Something is needed to tip the balance�

Lazarus Longman � antiquarian, explorer and treasure hunter for the British Empire � had heard of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, but he never believed they really existed. So when he was ordered to track down the only two men rumored to have seen the fabled land he was skeptical to say the least. His skepticism turned to desperation when he found out that his quarry was Gerard Vasquez; a degenerate gambler, drinker and pistoleer and his companion, Hok’ee; a towering Navajo with a ferocious temper and a mechanical gun-arm.

The British want these men delivered into the hands of the Confederacy so that the war can be brought to a swift resolution. But not everybody wants the Confederacy to win. Especially not Tsar Alexander III who has dispatched his own deadly assassin to ensure the Confederates never get their hands on America’s golden heart.
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159 P.J. Thorndyke 8269000817 David 0 to-read 4.00 2015 Golden Heart (Lazarus Longman Chronicles, #1)
author: P.J. Thorndyke
name: David
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (Burton & Swinburne, #3)]]> 11225502 399 Mark Hodder 1616145358 David 0 3.80 2012 Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (Burton & Swinburne, #3)
author: Mark Hodder
name: David
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Burton & Swinburne, #2)]]> 9740847
Time has been altered, and Sir Richard Francis Burton, the king’s agent, is one of the few people who know that the world is now careening along a very different course from that which Destiny intended.

When a clockwork-powered man of brass is found abandoned in Trafalgar Square, Burton and his assistant, the wayward poet Algernon Swinburne, find themselves on the trail of the stolen Garnier Collection—black diamonds rumored to be fragments of the Lemurian Eye of Naga, a meteorite that fell to Earth in prehistoric times.

His investigation leads to involvement with the media sensation of the age: the Tichborne Claimant, a man who insists that he’s the long lost heir to the cursed Tichborne estate. Monstrous, bloated, and monosyllabic, he’s not the aristocratic Sir Roger Tichborne known to everyone, yet the working classes come out in force to support him. They are soon rioting through the streets of London, as mysterious steam wraiths incite all-out class warfare.

From a haunted mansion to the Bedlam madhouse, from South America to Australia, from séances to a secret labyrinth, Burton struggles with shadowy opponents and his own inner demons, meeting along the way the philosopher Herbert Spencer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Florence Nightingale, and Charles Doyle (father of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

Can the king’s agent expose a plot that threatens to rip the British Empire apart, leading to an international conflict the like of which the world has never seen? And what part does the clockwork man have to play?

Burton and Swinburne’s second adventure�The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man—is filled with eccentric steam-driven technology, grotesque characters, and a deepening mystery that pushes forward the three-volume story arc begun in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack.
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355 Mark Hodder 1616143592 David 0 3.95 2011 The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Burton & Swinburne, #2)
author: Mark Hodder
name: David
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk, to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Karen Memory (Karen Memory, #1)]]> 22238181
Set in the late 19th century—when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes, would-be gold miners were heading to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront, Karen is a young woman on her own, is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable's high-quality bordello. Through Karen's eyes we get to know the other girls in the house—a resourceful group—and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, begging sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, and who has a machine that can take over anyone's mind and control their actions. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap—a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered.

Bear brings alive this Jack-the-Ripper yarn of the old west with a light touch in Karen's own memorable voice, and a mesmerizing evocation of classic steam-powered science.]]>
346 Elizabeth Bear 0765375249 David 0 3.66 2015 Karen Memory (Karen Memory, #1)
author: Elizabeth Bear
name: David
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk, currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[The Thirteenth Hour (The Cruel Gods, #1)]]> 58796055 When the saints fail, the sinners step up.

Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods� whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.

Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.

To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.

For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.

The Thirteenth Hour is the first book in The Cruel Gods series—a gaslamp fantasy featuring magical portals, gothic cosmic deities, quaint Britishisms, and steampunk vibes. This is an adult book containing strong language and mature themes that some readers may find disturbing. For a full list of content warnings, visit Trudie Skies's website.]]>
535 Trudie Skies 1399900676 David 0 4.14 2021 The Thirteenth Hour (The Cruel Gods, #1)
author: Trudie Skies
name: David
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, to-read, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[Secrets in the Mist (Skyworld #1)]]> 57044336 What’s lurking in the Mist is the least of their worries�

In a world where humanity lives in the sky to escape a deadly mist below, Cass’s only goal is survival. That is, until she finds a job on the airship Daedalus as a diver. Now she explores ruined cities, looking for treasure and people’s lost heirlooms until a young man hires her to find the impossible: a way to eradicate the Mist.

Theodore Winchester is a member of one of the Five Families that rule the skies. Following in his father’s footsteps, he searches for the source of the Mist and hopes to stop the purges used to control overpopulation. But what he finds are horrifying secrets and lethal ambition. If he continues his quest, it could mean his own death.

The Mist is rising and soon the world will be enveloped in its deadly embrace, turning what's left of humanity into the undead.
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272 Morgan L. Busse 1621841871 David 0 4.07 Secrets in the Mist (Skyworld #1)
author: Morgan L. Busse
name: David
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read, fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk
review:

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The Ravine 19520036
Saloon-hand Jacob wants to live a quiet life, play his fiddle, and sink a few beers. But something has come to his town-something old, hungry, and far from quiet.

Farmer Joe Clancy wants to keep his herd alive long enough to be able to sell them and save his farm. But first, he has to save his family, as death stalks the corrals.

To fight the growing menace, the three men must confront their inner demons and an all too real evil, one that threatens the lives of everyone it touches.

"I have become a big fan of Mr. Meikle, his books are always good and he is one hell of a storyteller." - Famous Monsters of Filmland

"In a literary world of mediocrity, William Meikle stands out as an author of almost arcane talents." - J Kent Holloway, author of Primal Thirst

"William Meikle's short stories and novels are shining examples of what is missing in horror fiction atmospheric in style, old-school in character, with an intriguing story to be told." - David Wynn, Mythos Books]]>
220 William Meikle 1626410135 David 0 to-read 3.56 2013 The Ravine
author: William Meikle
name: David
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Affinity Bridge (Newbury and Hobbes, #1)]]> 6668080 340 George Mann 1429960094 David 4
The steampunk/horror setting of this book is very fitting and quite a treat. The story reads very quickly as it seamlessly breezes through the necessities of setting up the era and people and carries you along the good stuff quite nicely. The characters are all well likable, including the two main characters. Miss Hobbes has a girl-next-door yet independent ass-kicker vibe to her while Newbury has the Sherlock Holmes appeal; being super smart but can deliver a beating! So throw in some clockwork robots, steam powered machines, zombies and ghosts; and you have a great read. Whether you like steampunk, mystery or urban fantasy, I highly recommend this book. I already intend to read the next book in the series as soon as possible!]]>
3.55 2008 The Affinity Bridge (Newbury and Hobbes, #1)
author: George Mann
name: David
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/09
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, own
review:
Set in Victorian Era London; Mann gives us a steampunk, fantasy, detective and action story. Sir Maurice Newbury is a historian by trade, but agent of Her Majesty by loyalty. He is called upon to assist in the mysterious case of a string of murders that appear to have been committed by a haunting blue ghost of a dead policemen. Along with his incorporeal serial-killers, Newbury and his assistance Miss Veronica Hobbes must avoid being torn to pieces by zombies while investigating a massive crash of a dirigible that leads them into the world of Automatons; clockwork humanoid robots that may cause more problems then they solve.

The steampunk/horror setting of this book is very fitting and quite a treat. The story reads very quickly as it seamlessly breezes through the necessities of setting up the era and people and carries you along the good stuff quite nicely. The characters are all well likable, including the two main characters. Miss Hobbes has a girl-next-door yet independent ass-kicker vibe to her while Newbury has the Sherlock Holmes appeal; being super smart but can deliver a beating! So throw in some clockwork robots, steam powered machines, zombies and ghosts; and you have a great read. Whether you like steampunk, mystery or urban fantasy, I highly recommend this book. I already intend to read the next book in the series as soon as possible!
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<![CDATA[The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne, #1)]]> 7293120 511 Mark Hodder 1906727201 David 4 3.71 2010 The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne, #1)
author: Mark Hodder
name: David
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/17
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk
review:

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<![CDATA[Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St Mary's, #1)]]> 29661618
Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet.

Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process. But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And, as they soon discover - it's not just History they're fighting.

Follow the catastrophe curve from 11th-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake....]]>
480 Jodi Taylor David 0 3.82 2013 Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St Mary's, #1)
author: Jodi Taylor
name: David
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/09
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own, sci-fi, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[Murder at Spindle Manor (The Lamplight Murder Mysteries, #1)]]> 62993337
For Huntress Isabeau Agarwal, the countryside inn is the last stop in a deadly hunt. Armed with gaslamp and guns, she tracks an insidious beast that wears the skin of its victims, mimicking them perfectly. Ten guests reside within Spindle Manor tonight, and the creature could be any one of them. Confined by a torrential thunderstorm and running out of time, Isabeau has until morning to discover the liar, or none of them—including her—will make it out alive.

But her inhuman quarry isn't the only threat residing in Spindle Manor.

Gunshots.

A slammed door.

A dead body.

Someone has been killed, and a hunt turns into a murder investigation. Now with two mysteries at her feet and more piling up, Isabeau must navigate a night filled with lies and deception. In a world of seances and specters, mesmers and monsters, the unexpected is hiding around every corner, and every move may be her last.]]>
249 Morgan Stang David 0 to-read 4.06 2022 Murder at Spindle Manor (The Lamplight Murder Mysteries, #1)
author: Morgan Stang
name: David
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/19
shelves: to-read
review:

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Cytonic (Skyward, #3) 57571215
Now, the Superiority—the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all human life—has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa has seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant. Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator.

Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She faced down a Delver and saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy.

The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the Nowhere. A place from which few ever return.

To have courage means facing fear. And this mission is terrifying.]]>
415 Brandon Sanderson 0399555854 David 0 own-audio, sci-fi 4.03 2021 Cytonic (Skyward, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/19
shelves: own-audio, sci-fi
review:

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Starsight (Skyward, #2) 42769202
Spensa is sure there's more to the story. And she's sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars--and it was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie.

But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself--and she'll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.]]>
461 Brandon Sanderson 1473217903 David 0 own-audio, sci-fi 4.33 2019 Starsight (Skyward, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/19
shelves: own-audio, sci-fi
review:

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Skyward (Skyward, #1) 36642458 513 Brandon Sanderson 1473217857 David 0 sci-fi, own-audio 4.45 2018 Skyward (Skyward, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/19
shelves: sci-fi, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[The Executioner's Heart (Newbury and Hobbes, #4)]]> 16001043 336 George Mann 1781160058 David 4 3.86 2013 The Executioner's Heart (Newbury and Hobbes, #4)
author: George Mann
name: David
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/10/22
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk, urban-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6)]]> 18739426
The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metal minds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set.]]>
455 Brandon Sanderson 146686267X David 4 4.42 2016 The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/10/22
shelves: urban-fantasy, steampunk, own, fiction-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Unincorporated Woman (Unincorporated Man, #3)]]> 9713769
The award-winning saga of a revolutionary future takes a new turn. Justin Cord, the unincorporated man, is dead, betrayed, and his legacy of rebellion and individual freedom is in danger. General Black is the great hope of the military, but she cannot wage war from behind the President's desk. So there must be a new president, anointed by Black, to hold the desk job, and who better than the only woman resurrected from Justin Cord's past era, the scientist who created his resurrection device, the only born unincorporated woman. The perfect figurehead. Except that she has ideas of her own, and secrets of her own, and the talent to run the government her way. She is a force that no one anticipated, and no one can control.

The first novel in this thought-provoking series, "The Unincorporated Man," won the 2009 Prometheus Award for best novel.]]>
416 Dani Kollin 0765319047 David 0 own-audio, sci-fi 3.90 2011 The Unincorporated Woman (Unincorporated Man, #3)
author: Dani Kollin
name: David
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2023/10/22
date added: 2023/10/22
shelves: own-audio, sci-fi
review:

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<![CDATA[Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1)]]> 7095831 326 Paolo Bacigalupi 0316056219 David 4 3.75 2010 Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1)
author: Paolo Bacigalupi
name: David
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/09/17
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk
review:

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<![CDATA[Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5)]]> 16065004
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

When family obligations forced Waxillium Ladrian to forsake the frontier lands and return to the metropolis of his birth to take his place as head of a noble House, he little imagined that the crime-fighting skills acquired during twenty years in the dusty plains would be just as applicable in the big city. He soon learned that there too, just being a talented Twinborn � one who can use both Allomancy and Feruchemy, the dominant magical modes on Scadrial � would not suffice.

This bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society will now face its first test by terrorism and assassination, crimes intended to stir up labor strife and religious conflict. Wax, his eccentric sidekick Wayne, and brilliant, beautiful young Marasi, now officially part of the constabulary, must unravel the conspiracy before civil strife can stop Scadrial’s progress in its tracks.]]>
376 Brandon Sanderson 0765378558 David 0 4.27 2015 Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/13
shelves: own, fiction-fantasy, urban-fantasy, own-audio
review:

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The Alchemy of Stone 2412562 The Alchemy of Stone represents a new and intriguing direction by the author of the critically-acclaimed The Secret History of Moscow: ]]> 304 Ekaterina Sedia 0809572842 David 0 to-read, own-audio, steampunk 3.64 2008 The Alchemy of Stone
author: Ekaterina Sedia
name: David
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: to-read, own-audio, steampunk
review:

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The Angel of the Crows 52378874 This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings under a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.]]>
448 Katherine Addison 0765387395 David 0 3.70 2020 The Angel of the Crows
author: Katherine Addison
name: David
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)]]> 29939230 Witness the fate of beloved heroes - and enemies.

THE BALANCE OF POWER HAS FINALLY TIPPED...
The precarious equilibrium among four Londons has reached its breaking point. Once brimming with the red vivacity of magic, darkness casts a shadow over the Maresh Empire, leaving a space for another London to rise.

WHO WILL CRUMBLE?
Kell - once assumed to be the last surviving Antari - begins to waver under the pressure of competing loyalties. And in the wake of tragedy, can Arnes survive?

WHO WILL RISE?
Lila Bard, once a commonplace - but never common - thief, has survived and flourished through a series of magical trials. But now she must learn to control the magic, before it bleeds her dry. Meanwhile, the disgraced Captain Alucard Emery of the Night Spire collects his crew, attempting a race against time to acquire the impossible.

WHO WILL TAKE CONTROL?
And an ancient enemy returns to claim a crown while a fallen hero tries to save a world in decay.]]>
624 Victoria E. Schwab 0765387468 David 3 fiction-fantasy, own-audio 4.30 2017 A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: David
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel, #2)]]> 35959733
Hopeless and desolate, they turn to a legend of the Tower, the mysterious Sphinx. But help from the Sphinx never comes cheaply, and as Senlin knows, debts aren't always what they seem in the Tower of Babel.

Time is running out, and now Senlin must choose between his friends, his freedom, and his wife. Does anyone truly escape the Tower?

The second book in the word-of-mouth phenomenon fantasy series about one man's dangerous journey through a labyrinthine world. ]]>
448 Josiah Bancroft 031651795X David 4 4.28 2014 Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel, #2)
author: Josiah Bancroft
name: David
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/22
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: own-audio, steampunk, fiction-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Hod King (The Books of Babel, #3)]]> 32998292
Posing as a noble lady and her handmaid, Voleta and Iren attempt to reach Marya, who is isolated by her fame. While navigating the court, Voleta attracts the unwanted attention of a powerful prince whose pursuit of her threatens their plan.

Edith, now captain of the Sphinx's fierce flagship, joins forces with a fellow wakeman to investigate the disappearance of a beloved friend. She must decide who to trust as her desperate search brings her nearer to the Black Trail where the hods climb in darkness and whisper of the Hod King.

As Senlin and his crew become further dragged in to the conspiracies of the Tower, everything falls to one question: Who is The Hod King?]]>
608 Josiah Bancroft David 0 4.44 2019 The Hod King (The Books of Babel, #3)
author: Josiah Bancroft
name: David
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2022/11/20
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk
review:

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<![CDATA[Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel, #1)]]> 35271523
Soon after arriving for his honeymoon at the Tower, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, Thomas Senlin, gets separated from his wife, Marya, in the overwhelming swarm of tourists, residents, and miscreants.

Senlin is determined to find Marya, but to do so he'll have to navigate madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theaters. He must survive betrayal, assassins, and the long guns of a flying fortress. But if he hopes to find his wife, he will have to do more than just endure.

This quiet man of letters must become a man of action.

The first book in the stunning and strange debut fantasy series that's receiving major praise from some of fantasy's biggest authors such as Mark Lawrence and Django Wexler.]]>
448 Josiah Bancroft 0316517917 David 4 4.08 2013 Senlin Ascends (The Books of Babel, #1)
author: Josiah Bancroft
name: David
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: own-audio, steampunk, fiction-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Fall of Babel (The Books of Babel, #4)]]> 44001255 Senlin Ascends.

"The "Books of Babel" are something you hope to see perhaps once a decade � future classics, which may be remembered long after the series concludes." -- (Los Angeles Times)

As Marat's siege engine bores through the Tower, erupting inside ringdoms and leaving chaos in its wake, Senlin can do nothing but observe the mayhem from inside the belly of the beast. Caught in a charade, Senlin desperately tries to sabotage the rampaging Hod King, even as Marat's objective grows increasingly clear. The leader of the zealots is bound for the Sphinx's lair and the unimaginable power it contains.

In the city under glass at the Tower's summit, Adam discovers a utopia where everyone inexplicably knows the details of his past. As Adam unravels the mystery of his fame, he soon discovers the crowning ringdom conceals a much darker secret.

Aboard the State of Art, Edith and her crew adjust to the reality that Voleta has awoken from death changed. She seems to share more in common with the Red Hand now than her former self. While Edith wars for the soul of the young woman, a greater crisis looms: They will have to face Marat on unequal footing and with Senlin caught in the crossfire.

And when the Bridge of Babel is finally opened, and the Brick Layer's true ambition revealed, neither they nor the Tower will ever be the same again. Also by Josiah Bancroft: The Books of BabelSenlin AscendsArm of the SphinxThe Hod KingThe Fall of Babel]]>
636 Josiah Bancroft 0356510867 David 0 3.95 2021 The Fall of Babel (The Books of Babel, #4)
author: Josiah Bancroft
name: David
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2023/02/02
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, steampunk
review:

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<![CDATA[The Fall of the House of Cabal (Johannes Cabal, #5)]]> 28220832
So assisted--ably and otherwise--by his vampiric brother, Horst, and by the kindly accompaniment of a criminologist and a devil, he will encounter ruins and diableries, mystery and murder, the depths of the lowest pit and a city of horrors. London, to be exact.

Yet even though Cabal has risked such peril believing he understands the dangers he faces, he is still underestimating them. He is walking into a trap of such arcane complexity that even the one who drew him there has no idea of its true terrors. As the snare closes slowly and subtly around them, it may be that there will be no survivors at all.

The Fall of the House of Cabal is the fifth book in Jonathan L. Howard's acclaimed Johannes Cabal series.]]>
384 Jonathan L. Howard 1250069971 David 4 4.37 2016 The Fall of the House of Cabal (Johannes Cabal, #5)
author: Jonathan L. Howard
name: David
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: own-audio, steampunk, urban-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Immorality Engine (Newbury and Hobbes, #3)]]> 6467009
Veronica and Newbury’s dear friend Bainbridge, the Chief Investigator at Scotland Yard, tries to cover for him as much as possible, but when the body of a well known criminal turns up, Bainbridge and Veronica track Newbury down in an opium den and drag him out to help them with the case. The body is clearly, irrefutably, that of the man in question, but shortly after his body is brought to the morgue, a crime is discovered that bears all the dead man’s hallmarks. Bainbridge and Veronica fear someone is committing copycat crimes, but Newbury is not sure. Somehow, the details are too perfect for it to be the work of a copycat. But how can a dead man commit a crime?]]>
355 George Mann 190672718X David 4 3.94 2010 The Immorality Engine (Newbury and Hobbes, #3)
author: George Mann
name: David
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: steampunk, urban-fantasy, own-audio
review:

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The Tangled Lands 35297399 304 Paolo Bacigalupi 1481497294 David 5 fiction-fantasy, own-audio 3.56 2018 The Tangled Lands
author: Paolo Bacigalupi
name: David
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/19
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)]]> 7171637 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...]]>
479 Cassandra Clare 1416975861 David 0 to-read 4.31 2010 Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)
author: Cassandra Clare
name: David
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/12/25
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)]]> 20764879
Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games--an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries--a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.]]>
512 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376474 David 4 4.20 2016 A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: David
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2022/09/16
date added: 2022/09/16
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, urban-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Revenant Express (Newbury and Hobbes, #5)]]> 16001052 The grand adventure continues in George Mann's Newbury & Hobbes steampunk mystery series, as a Victorian special agent races across a continent to save his beloved's life on board The Revenant Express.

Sir Maurice Newbury is bereft as his trusty assistant Veronica Hobbes lies dying with a wounded heart. Newbury and Veronica's sister Amelia must take a sleeper train across Europe to St. Petersberg to claim a clockwork heart that Newbury has commissioned from Faberge to save Veronica from a life trapped in limbo.

No sooner do they take off then sinister goings-on start to plague the train, and it is discovered that an old villain, thought dead, is also on board and seeking revenge. Can Newbury and Amelia defeat him and get the clockwork organ back to the Fixer in time to save Veronica? And can they do so without Newbury going so far into the dark side of occult magic that he can never return?

Meanwhile, Sir Charles Bainbridge is the only one of their team left in London to struggle with a case involving a series of horrific crimes. Someone is kidnapping prominent men and infecting them with the Revenant plague, leaving them chained in various locations around the city. But why?

It's a rousing chase to save both London and Veronica. Will these brave detectives be up to the task?

Newbury & Hobbes Investigations
#1: The Affinity Bridge
#2: The Osirus Ritual
#3: The Immortality Engine
#4: The Executioner's Heart
#5: The Revenant Express

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]>
256 George Mann 1466808144 David 0 to-read 3.79 2019 The Revenant Express (Newbury and Hobbes, #5)
author: George Mann
name: David
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/14
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Albion Initiative (Newbury and Hobbes, #6)]]> 52378551 George Mann's Newbury & Hobbes steampunk mystery series concludes in this thrilling final volume as our Victorian special agent heroes discover a grand plot to that threatens the state of the world.

The time has finally come.

Queen Victoria has given the order for her agents to move against the Secret Service -- to eliminate the fledgling organisation with extreme prejudice. Caught in the middle of the conflict, Newbury, Veronica and Bainbridge are forced to face up to the truth: that the Queen no longer represents the best interests of the Empire. Now rogue and in league with the Queen's enemies, they must enact the "Albion Initiative" a desperate plan to break Prince Edward out of Bedlam and install him on the throne in the Queen's stead. But with the Queen's executioner and his army on their trail, as well as a possible traitor in their midst, can they do enough to stop the malign tyrant from destroying everything they once swore to protect?

With everything falling apart around them, Newbury and Veronica must uncover the macabre truth behind the crown, and in doing so, unravel the very foundations of the Empire.

Newbury & Hobbes Investigations
#1: The Affinity Bridge
#2: The Osirus Ritual
#3: The Immorality Engine
#4: The Executioner's Heart
#5: The Revenant Express]]>
352 George Mann 0765334100 David 0 to-read 4.16 2022 The Albion Initiative (Newbury and Hobbes, #6)
author: George Mann
name: David
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/08/14
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)]]> 22055262
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.]]>
400 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376458 David 4 4.04 2015 A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: David
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/20
date added: 2022/07/20
shelves: own, fiction-fantasy, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[Phoenix Rising (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #1)]]> 9795166 402 Pip Ballantine 0062049763 David 0 3.69 2011 Phoenix Rising (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #1)
author: Pip Ballantine
name: David
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at: 2022/07/10
date added: 2022/07/10
shelves:
review:

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Airborn (Matt Cruse, #1) 428042
In a swashbuckling adventure reminiscent of Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson, Kenneth Oppel, author of the best-selling Silverwing trilogy, creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies.]]>
501 Kenneth Oppel 0060531827 David 0 to-read 4.18 2004 Airborn (Matt Cruse, #1)
author: Kenneth Oppel
name: David
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/06/19
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1)]]> 8855321
Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for—and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations—and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.]]>
592 James S.A. Corey 1841499889 David 0 to-read 4.30 2011 Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1)
author: James S.A. Corey
name: David
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/06/17
shelves: to-read
review:

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Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1) 6088007 Neuromancer is a cyberpunk, science fiction masterpiece—a classic that ranks with 1984 and Brave New World as one of the twentieth century’s most potent visions of the future.

The Matrix is a world within the world, a global consensus-hallucination, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace...

Henry Dorsett Case was the sharpest data-thief in the business, until vengeful former employees crippled his nervous system. But now a new and very mysterious employer recruits him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence orbiting Earth in service of the sinister Tessier-Ashpool business clan. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case embarks on an adventure that ups the ante on an entire genre of fiction.

The winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer was the first fully-realized glimpse of humankind’s digital future—a shocking vision that has challenged our assumptions about our technology and ourselves, reinvented the way we speak and think, and forever altered the landscape of our imaginations.]]>
288 William Gibson 110114646X David 0 own-audio, sci-fi 3.94 1984 Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1)
author: William Gibson
name: David
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1984
rating: 0
read at: 2022/06/14
date added: 2022/06/14
shelves: own-audio, sci-fi
review:

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Steamborn (Steamborn, #1) 45142253
A swarm overruns the walls and wreaks utter devastation on the Lowlands. Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be natural. With help from Jacob's closest friend, Alice, and Samuel, one of the city's elite spider knights, Jacob and Charles will uncover a terrible darkness at the heart of their city.]]>
294 Eric R. Asher David 0 3.94 2015 Steamborn (Steamborn, #1)
author: Eric R. Asher
name: David
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/13
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, to-read, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[The Unincorporated War (Unincorporated Man, #2)]]> 7896870 464 Dani Kollin 0765319004 David 3 own-audio, sci-fi 3.67 2010 The Unincorporated War (Unincorporated Man, #2)
author: Dani Kollin
name: David
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2022/04/13
date added: 2022/04/13
shelves: own-audio, sci-fi
review:

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<![CDATA[Infernal Devices (Infernal Devices, #1)]]> 9222475 384 K.W. Jeter 0857660977 David 0 to-read 3.36 1986 Infernal Devices (Infernal Devices, #1)
author: K.W. Jeter
name: David
average rating: 3.36
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/13
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Ember Blade (The Darkwater Legacy, #1)]]> 34673711
Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He’s never questioned it; that’s just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend Cade are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free . . .

But what lies beyond the prison walls is more terrifying still. Rescued by a man who hates him yet is oath-bound to protect him, pursued by inhuman forces, Aren slowly accepts that everything he knew about his world was a lie. The rules are not there to protect him, or his people, but to enslave them. A revolution is brewing, and Aren is being drawn into it, whether he likes it or not.

The key to the revolution is the Ember Blade. The sword of kings, the Excalibur of his people. Only with the Ember Blade in hand can their people be inspired to rise up . . . but it’s locked in an impenetrable vault in the most heavily guarded fortress in the land. All they have to do now is steal it. . .

Designed to return to classic fantasy adventures and values, from a modern perspective, this is a fast-moving coming-of-age trilogy featuring a strong cast of diverse characters, brilliant set-pieces and a powerful character and plot driven story.]]>
824 Chris Wooding 1473214866 David 0 to-read 4.17 2018 The Ember Blade (The Darkwater Legacy, #1)
author: Chris Wooding
name: David
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)]]> 32758901 "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.� Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.]]>
144 Martha Wells David 0 to-read 4.11 2017 All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)
author: Martha Wells
name: David
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)]]> 36510196
The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.]]>
318 John Scalzi David 0 to-read 4.25 2005 Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)
author: John Scalzi
name: David
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/03/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Unincorporated Man (Unincorporated Man, #1)]]> 4025200

The Unincorporated Man is a provocative social/political/economic novel that takes place in the future, after civilization has fallen into complete economic collapse. This reborn civilization is one in which every individual is incorporated at birth, and spends many years trying to attain control over his or her own life by getting a majority of his or her own shares. Life extension has made life very long indeed.

Now the incredible has happened: a billionaire businessman from our time, frozen in secret in the early twenty-first century, is discovered and resurrected, given health and a vigorous younger body. Justin Cord is the only unincorporated man in the world, a true stranger in this strange land. Justin survived because he is tough and smart. He cannot accept only part ownership of himself, even if that places him in conflict with a civilization that extends outside the solar system to the Oort Cloud. People will be arguing about this novel and this world for decades.

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479 Dani Kollin 0765318997 David 5 sci-fi, own, own-audio 3.79 2009 The Unincorporated Man  (Unincorporated Man, #1)
author: Dani Kollin
name: David
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2022/03/08
date added: 2022/03/08
shelves: sci-fi, own, own-audio
review:

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<![CDATA[Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)]]> 26082916 An unexpected quest. Two worlds at stake. Are you ready?

Days after winning Oasis founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything.

Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the Oasis a thousand times more wondrous—and addictive—than even Wade dreamed possible.

With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest—a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize.

And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who'll kill millions to get what he wants.

Wade's life and the future of the Oasis are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.]]>
370 Ernest Cline 1524761338 David 2 own-audio, sci-fi 3.39 2020 Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)
author: Ernest Cline
name: David
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2022/03/01
date added: 2022/03/01
shelves: own-audio, sci-fi
review:

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<![CDATA[The Ace of Skulls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #4)]]> 15763857 Ketty Jay and her intrepid crew.

They've been shot down, set up, double-crossed and ripped off. They've stolen priceless treasures, destroyed a ten-thousand-year-old Azryx city and sort-of-accidentally blew up the son of the Archduke. Now they've gone and started a civil war. This time, they're really in trouble.

As Vardia descends into chaos, Captain Frey is doing his best to keep his crew out of it. He's got his mind on other things, not least the fate of Trinica Dracken. But wars have a way of dragging people in, and sooner or later they're going to have to pick a side. It's a choice they'll be staking their lives on. Cities fall and daemons rise. Old secrets are uncovered and new threats revealed.

When the smoke clears, who will be left standing?]]>
492 Chris Wooding 0575098112 David 5 fiction-fantasy, own 4.43 2013 The Ace of Skulls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #4)
author: Chris Wooding
name: David
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/21
date added: 2022/02/21
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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<![CDATA[The Brothers Cabal (Johannes Cabal, #4)]]> 20613481
*The author wishes to point out that there are no zebras this time, so don't get your hopes up on that count. There is, however, a werebadger, if that's something that's been missing from your life.]]>
339 Jonathan L. Howard 1250037549 David 5 4.35 2014 The Brothers Cabal (Johannes Cabal, #4)
author: Jonathan L. Howard
name: David
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/27
date added: 2022/01/27
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own-audio, urban-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Fear Institute (Johannes Cabal, #3)]]> 11689404 351 Jonathan L. Howard 0755347994 David 5 urban-fantasy, own-audio 4.08 2011 The Fear Institute (Johannes Cabal, #3)
author: Jonathan L. Howard
name: David
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/18
date added: 2022/01/18
shelves: urban-fantasy, own-audio
review:

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The Windup Girl 6597651
Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engineered being, creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman, but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by some, devils by others, New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe.

What Happens when calories become currency? What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits, when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution? Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers one of the most highly acclaimed science fiction novels of the twenty-first century.]]>
359 Paolo Bacigalupi 1597801577 David 5 3.75 2009 The Windup Girl
author: Paolo Bacigalupi
name: David
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/10
date added: 2022/01/10
shelves: urban-fantasy, sci-fi, own, own-audio
review:

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Elder Race 50663055 I am going to make a momentous decision. Most likely it is a bad decision. Certainly it may be the last major decision I ever make.

Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.

But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) with responsibilities (she tells herself). Although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).

But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, and his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon. . . .]]>
199 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1250768721 David 0 to-read, sci-fi 4.01 2021 Elder Race
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: David
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/26
shelves: to-read, sci-fi
review:

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<![CDATA[Johannes Cabal the Detective (Johannes Cabal, #2)]]> 7675981 Johannes Cabal, necromancer of some little infamy, returns in this riotously clever and terrifically twisted tale of murder and international intrigue.

In this genre-twisting novel, infamous necromancer Johannes Cabal, after beating the Devil and being reunited with his soul, leads us on another raucous journey in a little-known corner of the world. This time he’s on the run from the local government.

Stealing the identity of a minor bureaucrat, Cabal takes passage on the Princess Hortense, a passenger aeroship that is leaving the country. The deception seems perfect, and Cabal looks forward to a quiet trip and a clean escape, until he comes face-to-face with Leonie Barrow, an enemy from the old days who could blow his cover. But when a fellow passenger throws himself to his death, or at least that is how it appears, Cabal begins to investigate out of curiosity. His minor efforts result in a vicious attempt on his own life—and then the gloves come off.

Cabal and Leonie—the only woman to ever match wits with him—reluctantly team up to discover the murderer. Before they are done, there will be more narrow escapes, involving sword fighting and newfangled flying machines. There will be massive destruction, not to mention resurrected dead . . .

Steampunk meets the classic Sherlockian mystery in this rip-roaring adventure where anything could happen . . . and does.


From the Hardcover edition.]]>
289 Jonathan L. Howard 0385528094 David 4 I thought it was a fun read; the author has such enjoyable wordplay and phrases that reads quite pleasantly. I think I will keep going with the series.]]> 4.07 2010 Johannes Cabal the Detective (Johannes Cabal, #2)
author: Jonathan L. Howard
name: David
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/20
date added: 2021/12/20
shelves: own-nook, steampunk, urban-fantasy, own-audio
review:
Johannes Cabal The Detective is exactly what it sounds like you'll get; the infamous Necromancer in a murder mystery! Cabal has a nack for making new enemies and attracting trouble. All he wanted to do was slip away on an airship out of dodge, but instead becomes tangled in a mysterious murder on board. He shouldn't have been his problem but curiosity got the best of him, and now he will get to the bottom of things!
I thought it was a fun read; the author has such enjoyable wordplay and phrases that reads quite pleasantly. I think I will keep going with the series.
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Whitechapel Gods 2302159
TWO GODS-ONE CHANCE FOR MANKIND

In Victorian London, the Whitechapel section is a mechanized, steam-driven hell, cut off and ruled by two mysterious, mechanical gods-Mama Engine and Grandfather Clock. Some years have passed since the Great Uprising, when humans rose up to fight against the machines, but a few brave veterans of the Uprising have formed their own Resistance-and are gathering for another attack. For now they have a secret weapon that may finally free them-or kill them all...]]>
374 S.M. Peters 0451461932 David 0 to-read 3.30 2008 Whitechapel Gods
author: S.M. Peters
name: David
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/15
shelves: to-read
review:

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The Original 54615879 Hugo Award-winning authors Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal team up in this exclusive audio-first production of The Original, a sci-fi thriller set in a world where one woman fights to know her true identity and survive the forces that threaten her very existence.

In the near future, humans choose life - for a price. Injectable nanite technology is the lifeblood that flows through every individual wishing to experience the world through the lens of their own theme. While death from mortal wounds is still possible, life is made easier in a socially liberated society where automation and income equality allow passion pursuits to flourish over traditional work. Renewal stations are provided to every law-abiding citizen for weekly check-ins, which issue life-sustaining repairs in exchange for personal privacy. But what becomes of those who check out, of those who dare to resist immortality and risk being edited under the gaze of an identity-extracting government surveillance system?

When Holly Winseed wakes up in a hospital room, her memory compromised and a new identity imposed on her, a team of government agents wastes no time stating their objective. With intent to infiltrate and defeat the terrorist group ICON, the agents tell Holly that she is now a Provisional Replica and has one week to hunt down and kill her Original for the murder of her husband, Jonathan. If she succeeds, she’ll assume her Original’s place in society. If she fails, her life will end. Holly’s progress is monitored by an assigned contact that feeds her information as she confronts the blank, robotic world around her, discovering that others view life through the theme of their own choosing.

With her newly implanted combat and deduction skills, Holly fends off both attacks by terrorists and doubts about her own trustworthiness as clues lead her to her Original - and to the truth about Jonathan. In the end, one body remains and one walks away. Although questions persist, one thing is certain: Life will never be the same.]]>
3 Brandon Sanderson David 0 to-read 3.80 2020 The Original
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/12/12
shelves: to-read
review:

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InterWorld (InterWorld, #1) 47701
InterWorld tells the story of Joey Harker, a very average kid who discovers that his world is only one of a trillion alternate earths. Some of these earths are ruled by magic. Some are ruled by science. All are at war.

Joey teams up with alternate versions of himself from an array of these worlds. Together, the army of Joeys must battle evil magicians Lord Dogknife and Lady Indigo to keep the balance of power between all the earths stable. Teens—and tweens and adults—who obsessively read the His Dark Materials and Harry Potter series will be riveted by InterWorld and its sequel, The Silver Dream .]]>
239 Neil Gaiman 0061238961 David 0 to-read 3.53 2007 InterWorld (InterWorld, #1)
author: Neil Gaiman
name: David
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/01
shelves: to-read
review:

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Only Human (Themis Files, #3) 35820656 336 Sylvain Neuvel 0399180117 David 0 3.62 2018 Only Human (Themis Files, #3)
author: Sylvain Neuvel
name: David
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/01
shelves: fiction-fantasy, sci-fi, to-read, own
review:

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<![CDATA[Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)]]> 26114463
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?]]>
427 Jay Kristoff 1250073022 David 0 fiction-fantasy, own, to-read 4.19 2016 Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)
author: Jay Kristoff
name: David
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/01
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own, to-read
review:

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Vicious (Villains, #1) 40874032 A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.]]>
402 Victoria E. Schwab David 0 to-read, fiction-fantasy, own 4.17 2013 Vicious (Villains, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: David
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/17
shelves: to-read, fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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Lock In (Lock In, #1) 21418013
A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome," rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined. The world of the locked in is changing, and with the change comes opportunities that the ambitious will seize at any cost. The investigation that began as a murder case takes Shane and Vann from the halls of corporate power to the virtual spaces of the locked in, and to the very heart of an emerging, surprising new human culture. It's nothing you could have expected.]]>
336 John Scalzi 0765375869 David 4 own, sci-fi, fiction-fantasy
A global pandemic has caused a large percentage of people to experience "Lock In" or Haden's Syndrome; causing them to be fully conscious but unable to move, trapped in their own bodies. With so many locked in, funding was pumped into medical science to created many solutions for them, including the ability to transfer their consciousness into robot bodies, or in a sort of digital world. In rarer cases, some people are able to carry others consciousness inside their own head, giving the locked in a chance to feel human again, if only for a short time. One of these Haden's is an FBI agent in a division that specializes in Haden's related crimes. On his first day on the job, he is thrown into the deep end with an unprecedented murder case, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.

Such a unique world was built very quickly and I was engage in this new society immediately. As one could image, a main character who literally can't show emotion (because he uses one of these "robot" bodies) was not the most dynamic protagonist. However, following the mystery of these murders and crimes had me hooked and loved to watch it unfold threw very grounded futuristic technology that reminded me of something from Black Mirror. I really enjoyed this book and want to read more sci-fi inspired detective/crime novels.]]>
3.89 2014 Lock In (Lock In, #1)
author: John Scalzi
name: David
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/30
date added: 2020/03/31
shelves: own, sci-fi, fiction-fantasy
review:
Loved this book, and read it during the perfect time.

A global pandemic has caused a large percentage of people to experience "Lock In" or Haden's Syndrome; causing them to be fully conscious but unable to move, trapped in their own bodies. With so many locked in, funding was pumped into medical science to created many solutions for them, including the ability to transfer their consciousness into robot bodies, or in a sort of digital world. In rarer cases, some people are able to carry others consciousness inside their own head, giving the locked in a chance to feel human again, if only for a short time. One of these Haden's is an FBI agent in a division that specializes in Haden's related crimes. On his first day on the job, he is thrown into the deep end with an unprecedented murder case, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.

Such a unique world was built very quickly and I was engage in this new society immediately. As one could image, a main character who literally can't show emotion (because he uses one of these "robot" bodies) was not the most dynamic protagonist. However, following the mystery of these murders and crimes had me hooked and loved to watch it unfold threw very grounded futuristic technology that reminded me of something from Black Mirror. I really enjoyed this book and want to read more sci-fi inspired detective/crime novels.
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<![CDATA[Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1)]]> 25733990
Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved - the object's origins, architects, and purpose unknown.

But some can never stop searching for answers.

Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top-secret team to crack the hand's code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the relic they seek. What's clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unravelling history's most perplexing discovery-and finally figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?]]>
320 Sylvain Neuvel 1101886692 David 5 fiction-fantasy, own, sci-fi About twenty years later, Rose is now a scientist and as fate would have it, in charge of studying this mysterious artifact. It’s made of metals it shouldn’t be made of, it glows with turquoise lights despite no light or power source, and it weighs significantly less than it should. Everything about this hand is off, and suggests it is not man-made. A breakthrough is made when they discover a way to “activate� the other pieces and a global (and illegal) search is on the way. Slowly they rebuild this giant robot, and the more the secrets they uncover, the more mystery and questions they uncover.

At first I thought the format would leave me uninterested or detached, I was wrong. I think it would have been just fine written in standard novel narrative, but this worked too. It is told through a series of interview transcripts, journal entries and other documents. The interviews are all between the main characters and a mysterious, unnamed government agent who acts as a sort of “Men In Black, so high on the Top Secret Clearance level that he probably doesn’t legally exist� kind of person.
The book reminds me a lot of the movie Arrival (which I know is based on a book but I didn’t read it, so all I know is the movie), in that it tackles a very realistic approach to what happens when an alien artifact is found. The way the scientists decipher the language and code written on the walls of the crater and on the robot itself are very clever and I believe would be a very real way to go about it.
As far as sci-fi goes, it is certainly more on the drama, intellectual side (like Arrival or Interstellar) rather than action side. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely read the next in the series.]]>
3.82 2016 Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1)
author: Sylvain Neuvel
name: David
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/07
date added: 2020/03/31
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own, sci-fi
review:
An 11 year old girl named Rose rides her bike into the woods near her home when suddenly she falls into a large crater. She isn’t hurt, but she is sitting inside a 23 foot long metal hand! However; it isn’t a statue. It’s an extremely detailed, complex piece of machinery that just doesn’t quite seem right.
About twenty years later, Rose is now a scientist and as fate would have it, in charge of studying this mysterious artifact. It’s made of metals it shouldn’t be made of, it glows with turquoise lights despite no light or power source, and it weighs significantly less than it should. Everything about this hand is off, and suggests it is not man-made. A breakthrough is made when they discover a way to “activate� the other pieces and a global (and illegal) search is on the way. Slowly they rebuild this giant robot, and the more the secrets they uncover, the more mystery and questions they uncover.

At first I thought the format would leave me uninterested or detached, I was wrong. I think it would have been just fine written in standard novel narrative, but this worked too. It is told through a series of interview transcripts, journal entries and other documents. The interviews are all between the main characters and a mysterious, unnamed government agent who acts as a sort of “Men In Black, so high on the Top Secret Clearance level that he probably doesn’t legally exist� kind of person.
The book reminds me a lot of the movie Arrival (which I know is based on a book but I didn’t read it, so all I know is the movie), in that it tackles a very realistic approach to what happens when an alien artifact is found. The way the scientists decipher the language and code written on the walls of the crater and on the robot itself are very clever and I believe would be a very real way to go about it.
As far as sci-fi goes, it is certainly more on the drama, intellectual side (like Arrival or Interstellar) rather than action side. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely read the next in the series.
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The Water Knife 23209924
When rumours of a game-changing water source surface, Las Vegas dispatches elite water knife Angel Velasquez to Phoenix to investigate. There, he discovers hardened journalist Lucy Monroe, who holds the secret to the water source Angel seeks. But Angel isn't the only one hunting for water, Lucy is no pushover, and the death of a despised water knife is a small price to pay in return for the life-giving flow of a river.]]>
371 Paolo Bacigalupi 0385352875 David 0 to-read 3.81 2015 The Water Knife
author: Paolo Bacigalupi
name: David
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/30
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Colour of Magic (Discworld, #1)]]> 601238 Alternate Cover Editions can be found here, and here

On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There's an avaricious but inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE on the planet...]]>
287 Terry Pratchett 0552124753 David 0 to-read 3.79 1983 The Colour of Magic (Discworld, #1)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: David
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/09
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Waking Gods (Themis Files, #2)]]> 30134847
Now humankind faces a nightmare invasion scenario made real, as more colossal machines touch down across the globe. But Rose and her team at the Earth Defense Corps refuse to surrender. They can turn the tide if they can unlock the last secrets of an advanced alien technology. The greatest weapon humanity wields is knowledge in a do-or-die battle to inherit the Earth . . . and maybe even the stars.]]>
336 Sylvain Neuvel 1101886722 David 5 fiction-fantasy, sci-fi, own 3.99 2017 Waking Gods (Themis Files, #2)
author: Sylvain Neuvel
name: David
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/25
date added: 2019/07/25
shelves: fiction-fantasy, sci-fi, own
review:

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<![CDATA[The Ocean at the End of the Lane]]> 15783514
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.]]>
181 Neil Gaiman 0062255657 David 0 to-read 4.00 2013 The Ocean at the End of the Lane
author: Neil Gaiman
name: David
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/18
shelves: to-read
review:

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Circe 35959740
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.]]>
393 Madeline Miller 0316556343 David 0 to-read 4.22 2018 Circe
author: Madeline Miller
name: David
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/18
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #2)]]> 7911067
But crossing the country is no small task; it's a harrowing adventure through war-torn border states by dirigible, rail, and the Mississippi River. And once Mercy finally arrives in St. Louis, the only Tacoma-bound train is pulled by a terrifying Union-operated steam engine called the Dreadnought. Lacking options and running out of money, Mercy buys a ticket and climbs aboard.

What ought to be a quiet trip turns deadly when the train is beset by bushwackers, then vigorously attacked by a band of Rebel soldiers. The train is moving away from battle lines into the vast, unincorporated west, so Mercy can't imagine why it's meeting such resisitance. Perhaps it has something to do with the mysterious cargo in the second and last train cars?

Mercy is just a frustrated nurse who wants to see her father before he dies. But she'll have to survive both Union intrigue and Confederate opposition if she wants to make it off the Dreadnought alive.]]>
400 Cherie Priest 0765325780 David 4
I though the development of Nurse Mercy was very well-done, keeping me interested and really liking the kind of woman she would very quickly become while unwillingly thrown into the middle of one disaster after another, from surviving a crashed dirigible, to mutiny aboard the war-train, to full on artillery assault to surviving a zombie attack. So i give it four stars for its action/adventure, as well as interesting and appreciating charactors. Well done. ]]>
3.86 2010 Dreadnought (The Clockwork Century, #2)
author: Cherie Priest
name: David
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/04/02
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, own, own-nook
review:
Finally finished Dreadnought after putting down for awhile. So overall i would say it is not quite as good as Priest's Boneshaker (The only other book I've read by her) but pretty darn close. While i thought the premise of Boneshaker was deeper and more compelling, Dreadnought keeps up with the pace as you follow Mercy on her journey across the U.S. during the war, hitching a ride on the monstrous steampunk-style, heavily armored war machine of a engine, the Dreadnought. The book keeps alive the same yellowish plague (the Blight/Sap) that turns people into zombies, in this case striking the Dreadnought during it's moments of vulnerability while defending itself against the rebel forces.

I though the development of Nurse Mercy was very well-done, keeping me interested and really liking the kind of woman she would very quickly become while unwillingly thrown into the middle of one disaster after another, from surviving a crashed dirigible, to mutiny aboard the war-train, to full on artillery assault to surviving a zombie attack. So i give it four stars for its action/adventure, as well as interesting and appreciating charactors. Well done.
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<![CDATA[The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam, #1)]]> 9766156 284 Andrew P. Mayer 1616143754 David 0 own-nook, own 3.39 2011 The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam, #1)
author: Andrew P. Mayer
name: David
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: own-nook, own
review:

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<![CDATA[The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4)]]> 10803121
Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will.

After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.]]>
325 Brandon Sanderson 0765330423 David 4 4.20 2011 The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/06/21
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own, urban-fantasy, own-nook
review:

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<![CDATA[The Inexplicables (The Clockwork Century, #4)]]> 9514173
And Wreck’s problems aren’t merely about finding a home. He’s been quietly breaking the cardinal rule of any good drug dealer and dipping into his own supply of the sap he sells. He’s also pretty sure he’s being haunted by the ghost of a kid he used to know—Zeke Wilkes, who almost certainly died six months ago. Zeke would have every reason to pester Wreck, since Wreck got him inside the walled city of Seattle in the first place, and that was probably what killed him. Maybe it’s only a guilty conscience, but Wreck can’t take it anymore, so he sneaks over the wall.

The walled-off wasteland of Seattle is every bit as bad as he’d heard, chock-full of the hungry undead and utterly choked by the poisonous, inescapable yellow gas. And then there's the monster. Rector's pretty certain that whatever attacked him was not at all human—and not a rotter, either. Arms far too long. Posture all strange. Eyes all wild and faintly glowing gold and known to the locals as simply “The Inexplicables.�

In the process of tracking down these creatures, Rector comes across another incursion through the wall -- just as bizarre but entirely attributable to human greed. It seems some outsiders have decided there’s gold to be found in the city and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get a piece of the pie unless Rector and his posse have anything to do with it.]]>
366 Cherie Priest 0765329476 David 2 3.69 2012 The Inexplicables (The Clockwork Century, #4)
author: Cherie Priest
name: David
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2015/01/14
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: urban-fantasy, fiction-fantasy, steampunk, own, own-nook
review:

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<![CDATA[Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)]]> 375802
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.]]>
324 Orson Scott Card 0812550706 David 5 sci-fi, own, own-nook 4.31 1985 Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: David
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: sci-fi, own, own-nook
review:

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<![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 68428 What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

Mistborn
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]>
541 Brandon Sanderson David 5 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: David
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2012/01/10
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own, own-nook
review:
I really didn't know what to expected and usually don't read fantasy books, but I loved this book. The way the author describes the allomancers and mistborns (people who can temporarily gain various powers by consuming and "burning" small amounts of metals), especially in battle give it an intense action-movie type read. It also successfully involves you in admiring Kelsier as your hero and Vin as the poor little girl you want so badly to succeed in her transformation from shy nobody to powerful bad ass. I was thoroughly fascinated in the Master Plan and loved it front to back.
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<![CDATA[The Black Lung Captain (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #2)]]> 7492383 Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more.

Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it. There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters.

Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before. But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it...

Strap yourself in for another tale of adventure and debauchery, pilots and pirates, golems and daemons, double-crosses and double-double-crosses. The crew of the Ketty Jay are back!]]>
442 Chris Wooding 0575085185 David 4
What I loved about this book was that it one-up'd the scale of the adventure the Ketty Jay crew embarks on, yet also takes the time to explore each character even deeper than the first book. It follows Crake and his (literal) demon he lives with and follows as he almost cracks completely! Jez gets a front stage position in the book, becoming far more critical than expected and explores her inner demon (again, literally). Even poor Pinn get's his own little side story regarding his sweetheart back home. It has everything the first book had plus much much more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next.]]>
4.25 2010 The Black Lung Captain (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #2)
author: Chris Wooding
name: David
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/30
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, own, own-nook
review:
Book two of the Ketty Jay series; The Black Lung Captain. The misfit crew of rejects and undesirables continue their daily routine of failing piracy when an opportunity arises to reclaim the fame and fortune they lost at Retribution Falls (Book One). They agree to help Captain Grist of the Storm Dog; A massive heavy-armored ship recover a special artifact that promises them riches beyond their dreams. Well of course it's too good to be true, and soon the adventure for riches turns into something WAY over their heads; save all of Vardia! Seriously.

What I loved about this book was that it one-up'd the scale of the adventure the Ketty Jay crew embarks on, yet also takes the time to explore each character even deeper than the first book. It follows Crake and his (literal) demon he lives with and follows as he almost cracks completely! Jez gets a front stage position in the book, becoming far more critical than expected and explores her inner demon (again, literally). Even poor Pinn get's his own little side story regarding his sweetheart back home. It has everything the first book had plus much much more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next.
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<![CDATA[Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #1)]]> 6285903 380 Chris Wooding 0575085150 David 4
When what should have been a simple heist job goes terribly wrong; Frey, Malvery (doctor), Pinn & Harkins (pilots), Crake (daemonist), Silo (engineer) and Jez (navigator) must redeem themselves and pull together to clear their names and take down the conspirators behind this mess.

The book starts off pretty slow to be honest, but I was pleasantly surprised how interested I became in almost every character; especially since most of them are pretty boring alone. Captain Frey reminds me a lot of Malcolm Reynolds from the Firefly tv show in that he is selfish and cold, but just can't help but do the right thing when it comes to. The book also gets exciting with its involvement in black magic, particularly Crake's giant metal Golem; a bulky Hulk-like monster with a "daemon" living inside it and controlled by him.

Overall I loved the book; the characters are well flushed out, the plot is exciting and gripping, and I can't wait to continue the series.]]>
3.98 2009 Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #1)
author: Chris Wooding
name: David
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/03
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, steampunk, own, own-nook
review:
Set in a world of sky pirates, religious political powers and magic; Retribution Falls is the beginning of a series I think I am going to love. The story follows wannabe pirate (freeloader) Darian Frey and his "crew" of the Ketty Jay; his flying ship. At first, he barely resembles a Captain, being only just loyal and fair enough to have a crew. However, we come to find that his crew is a ragtag collection of people all on the run from some shaddy past; trying to find a new life.

When what should have been a simple heist job goes terribly wrong; Frey, Malvery (doctor), Pinn & Harkins (pilots), Crake (daemonist), Silo (engineer) and Jez (navigator) must redeem themselves and pull together to clear their names and take down the conspirators behind this mess.

The book starts off pretty slow to be honest, but I was pleasantly surprised how interested I became in almost every character; especially since most of them are pretty boring alone. Captain Frey reminds me a lot of Malcolm Reynolds from the Firefly tv show in that he is selfish and cold, but just can't help but do the right thing when it comes to. The book also gets exciting with its involvement in black magic, particularly Crake's giant metal Golem; a bulky Hulk-like monster with a "daemon" living inside it and controlled by him.

Overall I loved the book; the characters are well flushed out, the plot is exciting and gripping, and I can't wait to continue the series.
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New Watch (Night Watch, #5) 18505829
Now older and more powerful, Light magician Anton Gorodestsky has risen to the top levels of the Night Watch. He is also father to a ten-year-old girl who is destined to become a magician of unprecedented power. When he hears a young boy at the airport screaming that a plane will crash, Anton suspects the child is a prophet—a rare type of Other who portends catastrophe.

If Anton is right, than the boy has awakened a terrifying danger—a rare, multifaced beast that exists to stop the prophecy from coming true. With all of their lives in mortal peril and time running out, Anton must to find a way to keep his gifted young daughter safe . . . and save the Twilight itself.]]>
371 Sergei Lukyanenko 0062310070 David 2 In this story, Anton has stumbled upon a new being that has come to be called "The Tiger." Unlike the other creatures they have faced before, this is one that even the oldest and most powerful Others know little to nothing about. What they do know is that it's purpose appears to be too hunt down prophets of great relevance.
At first, I was all in. I was on board with this crazy powerful, completely mysterious new entity in the Other's world. However, the plot quickly didn't go much further beyond that. Sure it was a neat story of Anton's new dynamic with the powerful Arina (former Dark Witch and current High Light Witch) and the involvement of Charles Darwin's grandfather Erasmus Darwin being a prophet. But these side stories just were not up to par with those found in the earlier books in the series.
So if you're a huge fan of he series, then yes you need to complete the set and read this book. Otherwise, I hope this is not the last one because it honestly ended kind of weak for me.]]>
4.03 2012 New Watch (Night Watch, #5)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: David
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2015/09/07
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, urban-fantasy, own, own-nook
review:
Finally finished the 5th book in the Night Watch series. Honestly, while it was still good; it was my least favorite of the series. While each book had that main objective (despite being broke up into 3 parts), this book had the least interesting/intense.
In this story, Anton has stumbled upon a new being that has come to be called "The Tiger." Unlike the other creatures they have faced before, this is one that even the oldest and most powerful Others know little to nothing about. What they do know is that it's purpose appears to be too hunt down prophets of great relevance.
At first, I was all in. I was on board with this crazy powerful, completely mysterious new entity in the Other's world. However, the plot quickly didn't go much further beyond that. Sure it was a neat story of Anton's new dynamic with the powerful Arina (former Dark Witch and current High Light Witch) and the involvement of Charles Darwin's grandfather Erasmus Darwin being a prophet. But these side stories just were not up to par with those found in the earlier books in the series.
So if you're a huge fan of he series, then yes you need to complete the set and read this book. Otherwise, I hope this is not the last one because it honestly ended kind of weak for me.
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<![CDATA[Fiddlehead (The Clockwork Century, #5)]]> 17332269
When she’s required to assist Abraham Lincoln himself, she has to put any old loyalties firmly aside � for a man she spied against twenty years ago.Lincoln’s friend Gideon Bardsley, colleague and ex-slave, is targeted for assassination after the young inventor made a breakthrough. Fiddlehead, Bardsley’s calculating engine, has proved an extraordinary threat threatens the civilized world. Meaning now is not the time for conflict.

Now Bardsley and Fiddlehead are in great danger as forces conspire to keep this secret, the war moving and the money flowing. With spies from both camps gunning for her, can even the notorious Belle Boyd hold the war-hawks at bay?]]>
368 Cherie Priest 0765334070 David 0 3.84 2013 Fiddlehead (The Clockwork Century, #5)
author: Cherie Priest
name: David
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: own, own-nook, steampunk, urban-fantasy
review:

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<![CDATA[The Osiris Ritual (Newbury and Hobbes, #2)]]> 6066181
A steampunk mystery adventure featuring immortality, artifacts, and intrepid sleuths Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbes

Sir Maurice Newbury, Gentleman Investigator for the Crown, imagines life will be a little quieter after his dual successes solving The Affinity Bridge affair. But he hasn't banked on his villainous predecessor, Knox, who is hell-bent on achieving immortality, not to mention a secret agent who isn't quite what he seems....

So continues an adventure quite unlike any other, a thrilling steampunk mystery and the second in the series of Newbury & Hobbes investigations.
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348 George Mann 190672704X David 0 3.83 2009 The Osiris Ritual (Newbury and Hobbes, #2)
author: George Mann
name: David
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: to-read, fiction-fantasy, own-nook
review:

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Of Mice and Men 890 “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.�

They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. But George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own.

While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck's work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men, creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual's existence meaningful.

A unique perspective on life's hardships, this story has achieved the status of timeless classic due to its remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.]]>
107 John Steinbeck 0142000671 David 3 classics 3.88 1937 Of Mice and Men
author: John Steinbeck
name: David
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1937
rating: 3
read at: 2001/01/01
date added: 2018/05/26
shelves: classics
review:

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<![CDATA[Mainspring (Clockwork Earth #1)]]> 1296444
Mainspringis the story of a young clockmaker's apprentice, who is visited by the Archangel Gabriel. He is told that he must take the Key Perilous and rewind the Mainspring of the Earth. It is running down, and disaster to the planet will ensue if it's not rewound. From innocence and ignorance to power and self-knowledge, the young man will make the long and perilous journey to the South Polar Axis, to fulfill the commandment of his God.]]>
320 Jay Lake 0765317087 David 2 fiction-fantasy, own
In this story, Lake has created literally a clockwork universe! The sun a glowing lamp, with the Earth a giant clockwork sphere rotating around the sun on a giant rail like a pinion on a track and the moon doing the same. Even religion is based on a clockwork God and Brass Christ and automaton angels. Young clock-maker apprentice Hethor is visited by the archangel Gabriel who tells him the Earth is slowing down as the mainspring in the world is winding down. Hethor must find the Key Perilous and re-wind the world to save it. He will meet many new people and creatures, many of clockwork automaton nature, and even cross the great Equatorial Wall (the teeth of the giant gear that the Earth runs the track on).

The Great: A steampunk Christianity in a clockwork universe! Amazing! The creativity of applying such detail to an imaginative world. I love how the author managed to make a legit sounding steampunk bible versus and how people would worship a steampunk God.

The Good: A solid balance of wonder and adventure. Throughout the book, I was not sure how much of it was fantasy and how much would be all too real and crush young Hethor. Was Gabriel real? Is he really on a quest from God? Is there really a mainspring turning the whole world and could one person really save it? I was really interested to see how his adventure panned out.

The Bad: Hethor was probably the most boring main character I've read in a while. The only reason you want him to succeed is because he is the only main character to bat for. He is too much the starry-eyed, naive, ah-shucks kind of kid who should have been the last person ever to be put on this quest.

The Ugly: This kid would have died in about a day if he didn't have a divine pass laid out before him. And it was laid out perfectly, like a golden road to lead him. Sure he got beat up, lost friends and people he cared about, and got even more severely beat up. But, at every opportunity to meet death (which was kind of often), a divine hand saved him every time! Must be nice.

Overall, I loved the steampunk universe but the story itself and characters were too flat and did not keep me nearly as engaged as I hoped.]]>
3.24 2007 Mainspring (Clockwork Earth #1)
author: Jay Lake
name: David
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2018/02/05
date added: 2018/02/05
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:
So there is great, good, bad and ugly. **Some minor spoilers**

In this story, Lake has created literally a clockwork universe! The sun a glowing lamp, with the Earth a giant clockwork sphere rotating around the sun on a giant rail like a pinion on a track and the moon doing the same. Even religion is based on a clockwork God and Brass Christ and automaton angels. Young clock-maker apprentice Hethor is visited by the archangel Gabriel who tells him the Earth is slowing down as the mainspring in the world is winding down. Hethor must find the Key Perilous and re-wind the world to save it. He will meet many new people and creatures, many of clockwork automaton nature, and even cross the great Equatorial Wall (the teeth of the giant gear that the Earth runs the track on).

The Great: A steampunk Christianity in a clockwork universe! Amazing! The creativity of applying such detail to an imaginative world. I love how the author managed to make a legit sounding steampunk bible versus and how people would worship a steampunk God.

The Good: A solid balance of wonder and adventure. Throughout the book, I was not sure how much of it was fantasy and how much would be all too real and crush young Hethor. Was Gabriel real? Is he really on a quest from God? Is there really a mainspring turning the whole world and could one person really save it? I was really interested to see how his adventure panned out.

The Bad: Hethor was probably the most boring main character I've read in a while. The only reason you want him to succeed is because he is the only main character to bat for. He is too much the starry-eyed, naive, ah-shucks kind of kid who should have been the last person ever to be put on this quest.

The Ugly: This kid would have died in about a day if he didn't have a divine pass laid out before him. And it was laid out perfectly, like a golden road to lead him. Sure he got beat up, lost friends and people he cared about, and got even more severely beat up. But, at every opportunity to meet death (which was kind of often), a divine hand saved him every time! Must be nice.

Overall, I loved the steampunk universe but the story itself and characters were too flat and did not keep me nearly as engaged as I hoped.
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<![CDATA[The Buntline Special (Weird West Tales, #1)]]> 8253037 320 Mike Resnick 1616142499 David 1 own, steampunk 3.48 2010 The Buntline Special (Weird West Tales, #1)
author: Mike Resnick
name: David
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2010
rating: 1
read at: 2018/01/22
date added: 2018/01/22
shelves: own, steampunk
review:
Had to abandon about half-way through. I typically hate not giving books a full go but this just could not keep me engaged enough. Perhaps this was a "young adult" book and no one told me. The premise was sound; fictional retelling of the wild west with the famous Tombstone cowboys but with a Steampunk twist. As an Arizona native, I'm very familiar with the story and thought I would love this. I did not. The store plays out much like a cartoon, with random characters assigned historical names and a steampunk-by-numbers recipe. Thomas Edison is an inventory; so he should have a mechanical arm and big brass monocle on his head. Geronimo is an Indian name, so that character can use magic and turn people into bats and Apaches can shape-shift into animals? I just couldn't, I'm sorry.
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<![CDATA[The Iron Jackal (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #3)]]> 9931820
Join the crew of the Ketty Jay on their greatest adventure yet: a story of mayhem and mischief, roof-top chases and death-defying races, murderous daemons, psychopathic golems and a particularly cranky cat. The first time was to clear his name. The second time was for money. This time, Frey's in a race against the clock for the ultimate prize: to save his own life.]]>
480 Chris Wooding 0575098066 David 4 The Iron Jackal follows the crew on their next adventure; to steal more stuff of course. Captain Frey gets suckered into a train robbery by his old flame and feared captain herself, Trinica. They find the artifact their paid to steal, and shocker; it bites him in the ass... or rather, in the soul. Frey manages to get himself cursed by an unstoppable, ancient demon curse and most move hell and high water to save his life.
What I also loved was everyone got a new spotlight in this book.
We get a new companion for our crew in Ashua, the spunky street rat who knows enough to keep herself useful for the mission and smart & determined enough to hold her own with the whole crew.
Jez dives frighteningly deeper into her roots as a half-demon, fighting to understand where she belongs in this world.
Harkins shows everyone that under a hundred layers of cowardliness is misguided bravery.
Pinn invents something.
Crake falls in love and pushes his skills in demonism to the extreme.
Malvery shows us the man he could have been and where it all went wrong.
And Silo gets the biggest spotlight; exploring his mysterious past and returns to his haunted past.
Over all, The Iron Jackal had everything I loved about Retribution Falls and answers a lot of questions you never knew you had.]]>
4.31 2011 The Iron Jackal (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #3)
author: Chris Wooding
name: David
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2017/02/28
date added: 2017/02/28
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own, steampunk
review:
Round 3 for the crew of the Ketty Jay! The Iron Jackal keeps the excitement rolling and didn't disappoint.
The Iron Jackal follows the crew on their next adventure; to steal more stuff of course. Captain Frey gets suckered into a train robbery by his old flame and feared captain herself, Trinica. They find the artifact their paid to steal, and shocker; it bites him in the ass... or rather, in the soul. Frey manages to get himself cursed by an unstoppable, ancient demon curse and most move hell and high water to save his life.
What I also loved was everyone got a new spotlight in this book.
We get a new companion for our crew in Ashua, the spunky street rat who knows enough to keep herself useful for the mission and smart & determined enough to hold her own with the whole crew.
Jez dives frighteningly deeper into her roots as a half-demon, fighting to understand where she belongs in this world.
Harkins shows everyone that under a hundred layers of cowardliness is misguided bravery.
Pinn invents something.
Crake falls in love and pushes his skills in demonism to the extreme.
Malvery shows us the man he could have been and where it all went wrong.
And Silo gets the biggest spotlight; exploring his mysterious past and returns to his haunted past.
Over all, The Iron Jackal had everything I loved about Retribution Falls and answers a lot of questions you never knew you had.
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<![CDATA[The Sixth Watch (Night Watch #6)]]> 28965074
Higher Light Magician Anton is one of the Others, possessed of magical powers and able to enter the Twilight, a shadowy world parallel to our own. Each Other must swear allegiance to one side: either the Light, or the Dark.

But who is after Anton and what do they want? Anton’s investigation leads him to a Prophet, an Other with the gift of seeing the future. Her horrifying vision heralds the end of all life at the hands of an ancient threat � unless Anton can reunite a mysterious organisation known only as the Sixth Watch, before it’s too late.]]>
300 Sergei Lukyanenko 1473535425 David 5 This story is a sort of puzzle, detective story in that Anton Gorodetsky is now involved in investigating a vampire who is attacking; but not killing victims in order to send him a message. This investigations leads to a much greater problem as long lost ancient secrets come to surface that threaten all the Others, humans, and the entire world all together. Anton, his daughter Nadya, his wife Sveta, Gesar of the Night Watch & Zabulon of the Day Watch are forced together to battle an enemy seemingly made of the Twilight itself with a mission that no one can seem to understand or agree upon.
The book had me engaged almost the entire time. Lukyanenko does a great job in his books of having multiple plots and conflicts going on at the same time without being confusing or unattached. I was truly curious of what this Two-In-One beast & long-lost Sixth Watch really were? Who is this mysterious Vampire and why is Anton of all people the one that ties it all together. My only disappointment is that the very end (which I wont spoil) was a great ending, plot-wise, but honestly quite anti-climactic. What happens is satisfying and relieving, but I hoped it was a much grander spectacle. I'm sad to see this series end.

P.S. Read this entire series in sequence; not a series you would want to random start on book 3 or 5 or something. Start with Night Watch and read go from there.]]>
4.21 2014 The Sixth Watch (Night Watch #6)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: David
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/09/24
date added: 2016/12/27
shelves:
review:
The last of my favorite series of books. What I loved about this book is that it truly did tie the entire series together and concluded the story. So many books try to keep a cliffhanger or end that one specific story, but not all of it. In the Sixth Watch, the author brings back a slew of characters that even I had forgotten about from throughout the series books.
This story is a sort of puzzle, detective story in that Anton Gorodetsky is now involved in investigating a vampire who is attacking; but not killing victims in order to send him a message. This investigations leads to a much greater problem as long lost ancient secrets come to surface that threaten all the Others, humans, and the entire world all together. Anton, his daughter Nadya, his wife Sveta, Gesar of the Night Watch & Zabulon of the Day Watch are forced together to battle an enemy seemingly made of the Twilight itself with a mission that no one can seem to understand or agree upon.
The book had me engaged almost the entire time. Lukyanenko does a great job in his books of having multiple plots and conflicts going on at the same time without being confusing or unattached. I was truly curious of what this Two-In-One beast & long-lost Sixth Watch really were? Who is this mysterious Vampire and why is Anton of all people the one that ties it all together. My only disappointment is that the very end (which I wont spoil) was a great ending, plot-wise, but honestly quite anti-climactic. What happens is satisfying and relieving, but I hoped it was a much grander spectacle. I'm sad to see this series end.

P.S. Read this entire series in sequence; not a series you would want to random start on book 3 or 5 or something. Start with Night Watch and read go from there.
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<![CDATA[Iron & Blood (Jake Desmet Adventures, #1)]]> 23492604
New Pittsburgh in 1898, a crucible of invention and intrigue, the hub of American industry at the height of its steam-driven power. Born from the ashes of devastating fire, flood and earthquake, New Pittsburgh is ruled by the shadow government of The Oligarchy. In the abandoned mine tunnels beneath the city, supernatural creatures hide from the light, emerging to feed in the smoky city known as 'hell with the lid off.'

Jake Desmet and Rick Brand, heirs to the Brand & Desmet Import Company, travel the world to secure treasures and unusual items for the collections of wealthy patrons, accompanied by Jake's cousin, Veronique 'Nikki' LeClerque. Smuggling a small package as a favor for a Polish witch should have been easy. But when hired killers come after Jake and a Ripper-style killer leaves the city awash in blood, Jake, Rick and Nikki realize that dark magic, vampire power struggles and industrial sabotage are just a prelude to a bigger plot that threatens New Pittsburgh and the world. Stopping that plot will require every ounce of Jake's courage, every bit of Rick's cunning, every scintilla of Nikki's bravura and all the steampowered innovation imaginable.]]>
407 Gail Z. Martin 1781083118 David 0 to-read, own 3.45 2015 Iron & Blood (Jake Desmet Adventures, #1)
author: Gail Z. Martin
name: David
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/04
shelves: to-read, own
review:

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<![CDATA[Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (Johannes Cabal, #1)]]> 5750628
Johannes Cabal, a brilliant scientist and notorious snob, is single-mindedly obsessed in heart and soul with raising the dead. Well, perhaps not "soul" . . . He hastily sold his years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. But now, tormented by a dark secret, he travels to the fiery pits of Hell to retrieve it. Satan, who is incredibly bored these days, proposes a little wager: Johannes has one year to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever.

To make the bet even more interesting, Satan throws in that diabolical engine of deceit, seduction, and corruption known as a "traveling circus" to aid in the evil bidding. What better place exists to rob poor sad saps of their souls than the traveling carnivals historically run by hucksters and legendary con men?

With little time to lose, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire (an unfortunate side effect of Johannes's early experiments with necromancy), to be the carnival's barker. On the road through the pastoral English countryside, this team of reprobates wields their black magic with masterful ease, resulting in mayhem at every turn.

Johannes may have the moral conscience of anthrax, but are his tricks sinful enough to beat the Devil at his own game? You'll never guess, and that's a promise!

Brilliantly written and wickedly funny, "Johannes Cabal the Necromancer" combines the chills and thrills of old-fashioned gothic tales like "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the mischievous humor of "Wicked," and the sophisticated charms of" Jonathan Strange &Mr. Norrell "and spins the Faustian legend into a fresh, irreverent, and irresistible new adventure.]]>
291 Jonathan L. Howard 0385528086 David 4 Johannes Cabal is a Necromancer; a practice of the dark arts with the know how to raise the dead. He sold his soul to the Devil to make this deal, but turns out he needed it more than he thought. So naturally, he makes a second deal with the devil, this time to return his soul. Satan is apparently a reasonable man and presents him his only deal; bring him 100 souls in one year, and Cabal gets his soul back. In order to help him achieve this, Satan provides him the remnants of a dark, macabre carnival. Having no idea how to run a carnival, he enlisted the help of Horst, a vampire left to rot in a cemetery for 8 years and just so happens to be his brother.
The book is full of interesting and bizarre concepts; such as the requirement for everyone who dies and goes to Hell to have to fill out months of ridiculously detailed and impossible to understand paperwork before entering the gates (after all, clerical work is it’s own Hell).
I liked that the story meanders a bit, from the roots of Cabal and his brothers estranged relationship and extremely different moral perspectives, to the history of this crazy family, to a battle with a powerful psychopath that traps Cabal in a timeless, pocket universe, to the growth and attractions of the carnival itself and the stories of the souls he tries to sign away to the devil.
My only gripe was the voice of the narrative is much stranger than any I’ve read before. The sentence structure and words chosen often threw me off, like a large portion was written in a stream of consciousness without thinking of how well it was structured. Otherwise I thought it was witty, unique, funny and had some heart to it.
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3.93 2009 Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (Johannes Cabal, #1)
author: Jonathan L. Howard
name: David
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/15
date added: 2016/09/15
shelves: fiction-fantasy, urban-fantasy
review:
One of the more interesting and strangely written books I’ve read in a while. However, I still loved just about every aspect of this book.
Johannes Cabal is a Necromancer; a practice of the dark arts with the know how to raise the dead. He sold his soul to the Devil to make this deal, but turns out he needed it more than he thought. So naturally, he makes a second deal with the devil, this time to return his soul. Satan is apparently a reasonable man and presents him his only deal; bring him 100 souls in one year, and Cabal gets his soul back. In order to help him achieve this, Satan provides him the remnants of a dark, macabre carnival. Having no idea how to run a carnival, he enlisted the help of Horst, a vampire left to rot in a cemetery for 8 years and just so happens to be his brother.
The book is full of interesting and bizarre concepts; such as the requirement for everyone who dies and goes to Hell to have to fill out months of ridiculously detailed and impossible to understand paperwork before entering the gates (after all, clerical work is it’s own Hell).
I liked that the story meanders a bit, from the roots of Cabal and his brothers estranged relationship and extremely different moral perspectives, to the history of this crazy family, to a battle with a powerful psychopath that traps Cabal in a timeless, pocket universe, to the growth and attractions of the carnival itself and the stories of the souls he tries to sign away to the devil.
My only gripe was the voice of the narrative is much stranger than any I’ve read before. The sentence structure and words chosen often threw me off, like a large portion was written in a stream of consciousness without thinking of how well it was structured. Otherwise I thought it was witty, unique, funny and had some heart to it.

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<![CDATA[What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions]]> 21413662 xkcd comic ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by his signature xkcd comics. (They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.)

In celebration of 10 years of unusual insight, Randall Munroe has revised his classic blockbuster to ask what if? x 10. The result is 10x the adventure of scientific inquiry. Featuring brand-new 2-color annotations and illustrations, this special anniversary edition is far more than a book for geeks, What If? explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much smarter for having read.]]>
303 Randall Munroe 0544272994 David 5 non-fiction-science, own 4.13 2014 What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
author: Randall Munroe
name: David
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/09/07
shelves: non-fiction-science, own
review:

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<![CDATA[Heart of Veridon (The Burn Cycle, #1)]]> 6341582 Heart of Veridon marks the start of a superb new trilogy from an exciting new author, set in an exotic fantasy world.]]> 473 Tim Akers 1844167585 David 0 to-read 3.57 2009 Heart of Veridon (The Burn Cycle, #1)
author: Tim Akers
name: David
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/09/06
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Ghosts of Karnak (The Ghost, #3)]]> 25022172
When an expedition returns from Cairo to exhibit their finds at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gabriel takes a keen interest. An old friend and lover � a girl called Ginny, who he hasn’t seen for over a year � was part of the expedition.

Something’s not right with Ginny, however, and not just the fact she’s still drinking…something happened to her in Cairo, out on the dig. Something that’s related to a strange cult known as The Circle of Thoth, a baboon with a clockwork eye, dust devils on Fifth Avenue, robed assassins, sacrificial rites, a ‘resurrection machine� and a ghostly figure clad in trailing bandages, seen floating over the rooftops of the city.

Ancient forces are stirring, and the Ghost, Ginny and Gabriel’s friend Donovan are caught right in the middle…]]>
297 George Mann 1783294167 David 0 to-read 3.62 2016 Ghosts of Karnak (The Ghost, #3)
author: George Mann
name: David
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)]]> 9969571 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.]]>
480 Ernest Cline 030788743X David 5 fiction-fantasy, own
The story follows teenager Wade Watts, aka Parzival; the first person to uncover the first of three clues that will inherit him the single most wealthiest and powerful estate on the broken and devastated planet. Legendary genius James Donovan Halliday created the OASIS, a virtual reality now as commonly used as the internet. In his final will, he declared whoever finds a ridiculously well hidden easter egg inside the program will inherit the multi-million dollar estate.

Like many, Wade spend 5 years studying and absorbing everything Halliday every watched, played, listened to, read, created or mentioned in hopes of finding the egg. His dream suddenly seemed to be coming true when he finds the first key. But, soon he discovers what people are willing to do to get their hands on that much money and power. Entire corporations are now bribing him, some are even trying to kill him! His life falls apart as friends and loved ones are ripped away and he is forced to go into hiding as he is now the most famous, and most hunted person on Earth. However, he knows that if he doesn't find the egg, then an evil corporation, bent on destroying the freedoms of the OASIS and it's users will win, and destroy the only good thing left in his world. So, he must suffer through, and use every single 80s pop culture reference you can think of the solve the puzzles, find the keys and open the gates that lead to the ultimate prize.

I first thought the story was progressing a bit slow and didn't think I would be very invested in the story. However, I was quickly proven wrong. The story is any 80s geek's holy grail, packed with dozens of movie, music, gaming and comic references. The main character is also a very likable and relate-able person that you truly do root for every step of the way. The book keeps the suspense as Wade falls victim to more and more barricades and pitfalls and kept me wanting to read on to see how he pulls himself out. The last few chapters were especially gripping and kept me up late nights not wanting to put the book down and keep up the satisfying conclusion.

Ready Player One is a charming and entertaining book that just about anyone, especially geeks can enjoy. I wouldn't be surprised to see this made into a movie, but it would probably suck. No way a film and jam this much story and heart into 2 hours of story telling. So read it, and enjoy it!]]>
4.21 2011 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
author: Ernest Cline
name: David
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2015/10/12
date added: 2015/10/12
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:
Ready Player One is now in my top 5 favorite books. At first I didn't think it was much of an original concept (reminded me of the Battlestar Galactica prequel tv show Caprica with their "holobands" and "V-space"), however this quickly fell to the way-side as I became more and more engrossed in the story.

The story follows teenager Wade Watts, aka Parzival; the first person to uncover the first of three clues that will inherit him the single most wealthiest and powerful estate on the broken and devastated planet. Legendary genius James Donovan Halliday created the OASIS, a virtual reality now as commonly used as the internet. In his final will, he declared whoever finds a ridiculously well hidden easter egg inside the program will inherit the multi-million dollar estate.

Like many, Wade spend 5 years studying and absorbing everything Halliday every watched, played, listened to, read, created or mentioned in hopes of finding the egg. His dream suddenly seemed to be coming true when he finds the first key. But, soon he discovers what people are willing to do to get their hands on that much money and power. Entire corporations are now bribing him, some are even trying to kill him! His life falls apart as friends and loved ones are ripped away and he is forced to go into hiding as he is now the most famous, and most hunted person on Earth. However, he knows that if he doesn't find the egg, then an evil corporation, bent on destroying the freedoms of the OASIS and it's users will win, and destroy the only good thing left in his world. So, he must suffer through, and use every single 80s pop culture reference you can think of the solve the puzzles, find the keys and open the gates that lead to the ultimate prize.

I first thought the story was progressing a bit slow and didn't think I would be very invested in the story. However, I was quickly proven wrong. The story is any 80s geek's holy grail, packed with dozens of movie, music, gaming and comic references. The main character is also a very likable and relate-able person that you truly do root for every step of the way. The book keeps the suspense as Wade falls victim to more and more barricades and pitfalls and kept me wanting to read on to see how he pulls himself out. The last few chapters were especially gripping and kept me up late nights not wanting to put the book down and keep up the satisfying conclusion.

Ready Player One is a charming and entertaining book that just about anyone, especially geeks can enjoy. I wouldn't be surprised to see this made into a movie, but it would probably suck. No way a film and jam this much story and heart into 2 hours of story telling. So read it, and enjoy it!
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<![CDATA[The Native Star (Veneficas Americana, #1)]]> 7236997
The year is 1876. In the small Sierra Nevada settlement of Lost Pine, the town witch, Emily Edwards, is being run out of business by an influx of mail-order patent magics. Attempting to solve her problem with a love spell, Emily only makes things worse. But before she can undo the damage, an enchanted artifact falls into her possession--and suddenly Emily must flee for her life, pursued by evil warlocks who want the object for themselves.

Dreadnought Stanton, a warlock from New York City whose personality is as pompous and abrasive as his name, has been exiled to Lost Pine for mysterious reasons. Now he finds himself involuntarily allied with Emily in a race against time--and across the United States by horse, train, and biomechanical flying machine--in quest of the great Professor Mirabilis, who alone can unlock the secret of the coveted artifact. But along the way, Emily and Stanton will be forced to contend with the most powerful and unpredictable magic of all--the magic of the human heart.]]>
387 M.K. Hobson 0553592653 David 0 to-read 3.55 2010 The Native Star (Veneficas Americana, #1)
author: M.K. Hobson
name: David
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/10/11
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[Merrick (The Vampire Chronicles, #7)]]> 43781 In this mesmerizing new novel, Anne Rice demonstrates once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of myth and magic, as she weaves together two of her most compelling worlds? those of the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair witches.
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370 Anne Rice 0345422406 David 3 fiction-fantasy, own 3.77 2000 Merrick (The Vampire Chronicles, #7)
author: Anne Rice
name: David
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2007/01/01
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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<![CDATA[Memnoch the Devil (The Vampire Chronicles, #5)]]> 159429 434 Anne Rice 0345409671 David 5 fiction-fantasy, own 3.61 1995 Memnoch the Devil (The Vampire Chronicles, #5)
author: Anne Rice
name: David
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 2004/01/01
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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<![CDATA[The Tale of the Body Thief (The Vampire Chronicles, #4)]]> 31336 Interview with the Vampire. For centuries, Lestat—vampire-hero, enchanter, seducer of mortals—has been a courted prince in the dark and flourishing universe of the living dead. Now he is alone. And in his overwhelming need to destroy his doubts and his loneliness, Lestat embarks on the most dangerous enterprise he has undertaken in all the years of his haunted existence.

Praise for The Tale of the Body Thief

“Tinged with mystery, full of drama . . . The story is involving, the twists surprising.�People

“Rice is our modern messenger of the occult, whose nicely updated dark-side passion plays twist and turn in true Gothic form.�San Francisco Chronicle

“Fast-paced . . . . mesmerizing . . . silkenly sensuous . . . No one writing today matches her deftness with the erotic.�The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Hypnotic . . . masterful.�Cosmopolitan


From the Paperback edition.]]>
464 Anne Rice 0345419634 David 1 fiction-fantasy, own 3.76 1992 The Tale of the Body Thief (The Vampire Chronicles, #4)
author: Anne Rice
name: David
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1992
rating: 1
read at: 2002/01/01
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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<![CDATA[The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles, #3)]]> 43758 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

In 1976, a uniquely seductive world of vampires was unveiled in the now-classic Interview with the Vampire . . . in 1985, a wild and voluptous voice spoke to us, telling the story of The Vampire Lestat.In The Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice continues her extraordinary "Vampire Chronicles" in a feat of mesmeric storytelling, a chillingly hypnotic entertainment in which the oldest and most powerful forces of the night are unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

Three brilliantly colored narrative threads intertwine as the story unfolds:

- The rock star known as Vampire Lestat, worshipped by millions of spellbound fans, prepares for a concert in San Francisco.Among the audience--pilgrims in a blind swoon of adoration--are hundreds of vampires, creatures who see Lestat as a "greedy fiend risking the secret prosperity of all his kind just to be loved and seen by mortals," fiends themselves who hate Lestat's power and who are determined to destroy him . . .

- The sleep of certain men and women--vampires and mortals scattered around the world--is haunted by a vivid, mysterious dream: of twins with fiery red hair and piercing green eyes who suffer an unspeakable tragedy.It is a dream that slowly, tauntingly reveals its meaning to the dreamers as they make their way toward each other--some to be destroyed on the journey, some to face an even more terrifying fate at journey's end . . .

- Akasha--Queen of the Damned, mother of all vampires, rises after a 6,000 year sleep and puts into motion a heinous plan to "save" mankind from itself and make "all myths of the world real" by elevating herself and her chosen son/lover to the level of the gods: "I am the fulfillment and I shall from this moment be the cause" . . .

These narrative threads wind sinuously across a vast, richly detailed tapestry of the violent, sensual world of vampirism, taking us back 6,000 years to its beginnings.As the stories of the "first brood" of blood drinkers are revealed, we are swept across the ages, from Egypt to South America to the Himalayas to all the shrouded corners of the globe where vampires have left their mark. Vampires are created--mortals succumbing to the sensation of "being emptied, of being devoured, of being nothing." Vampires are destroyed.Dark rituals are performed--the rituals of ancient creatures prowling the modern world.And, finally, we are brought to a moment in the twentieth century when, in an astonishing climax, the fate of the living dead--and perhaps of the living, all the living--will be decided.


From the Hardcover edition.]]>
448 Anne Rice 0345419626 David 4 fiction-fantasy, own 3.93 1988 The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles, #3)
author: Anne Rice
name: David
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2002/01/01
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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<![CDATA[The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)]]> 43814 481 Anne Rice 0345476883 David 5 fiction-fantasy, own 4.10 1985 The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)
author: Anne Rice
name: David
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2002/01/01
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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<![CDATA[Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)]]> 43763
Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.
source: annerice.com]]>
346 Anne Rice 0345476875 David 5 fiction-fantasy, own 4.04 1976 Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)
author: Anne Rice
name: David
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1976
rating: 5
read at: 2002/01/01
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: fiction-fantasy, own
review:

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Neverwhere 474072 370 Neil Gaiman 0380789019 David 5 urban-fantasy, own Richard is plunged into this underground society after his kind deed of helping a young girl clearly in need. He soon learns she is being chased by two very odd assassins and is mixed up in this chase following the death of her family. The characters are all unique and strong, and the story progressed fluently and in awe. So far this is my favorite Neil Gaiman book by far.]]> 4.06 1996 Neverwhere
author: Neil Gaiman
name: David
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2009/12/20
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: urban-fantasy, own
review:
This book is Alice in Wonderland, if Alice was your average joe, and the rabbit hole was on the side of a building in London and the rabbit was a strange girl found broken and bleeding. The wonderland Richard falls into is an amazing and very confusing world; one that is backwards and crazy but awesome. In Gaiman's world, rats are the kings of the underworld, peoples trash and their treasure, and no matter what you just cant fit in. But surviving this world along the character had me fully gripped the whole time.
Richard is plunged into this underground society after his kind deed of helping a young girl clearly in need. He soon learns she is being chased by two very odd assassins and is mixed up in this chase following the death of her family. The characters are all unique and strong, and the story progressed fluently and in awe. So far this is my favorite Neil Gaiman book by far.
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The Last Watch (Watch, #4) 2192092 Last Watch returns us to the hyper-imaginative world of Sergei Lukyanenko, where the endless battle between good and evil is about to reach its climax. Anton Gorodetsky is just getting a feel for his new powers when his boss, Gesar, sends him to assist the Scottish Night Watch in Edinburgh in a murder investigation. A young Russian man has been murdered—apparently by a vampire. But the mystery is more than it seems, and soon Anton is himself in danger. The murderer appears to be someone with intimate knowledge of the Night Watch. Before long, Anton realizes that a plot is being hatched by the forces of both darkness and light that—unless he can intervene—may mean nothing less than Armageddon.]]> 370 Sergei Lukyanenko 1401309275 David 4 urban-fantasy, own 4.12 2006 The Last Watch (Watch, #4)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: David
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2010/03/24
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: urban-fantasy, own
review:

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Twilight Watch (Watch, #3) 6586449
In Twilight Watch, the Others face their greatest threat yet. A renegade Other, his identity as yet unknown, has absconded with a fabled spell-book of untold power and appears bent on attacking the entire earth. Now forces of the Light and the Dark -- the Night Watch and the Day Watch -- must cooperate to stop him. Anton, the hero from Night Watch, is back, but when the culprit turns out to be none other than his partner, the race against time becomes more urgent than ever. In a world where reality and magic commingle, and where different degrees of existence are layered one atop the other, nothing is ever quite what it seems.]]>
450 Sergei Lukyanenko David 5 urban-fantasy, own 4.14 2004 Twilight Watch (Watch, #3)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: David
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2010/03/17
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: urban-fantasy, own
review:

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Day Watch (Watch, #2) 104160
Set in a modern-day Moscow, the epic saga chronicles the eternal war of the "Others," an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who must swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. The agents of Dark - The Day Watch - keep an eye during the day, while the agents of Light keep watch over the night. For a thousand years a treaty between the two sides has maintained an uneasy balance, but when a very potent artifact is stolen from the inquisition - an impartial group of Others who keep watch over all - the consequences are dire for both sides.

Day Watch introduces the perspective of the Dark Ones, as it is told in part by a beautiful but troubled young witch. When she falls in love with a handsome young Light One, the balance is threatened and a death must be avenged. Replete with the thrilling action and intricate plotting of the first tale, Day Watch is fuelled by cunning, cruelty, violence, and magic. It is a fast-paced, darkly humorous, haunting world that will take root in the shadows of your mind and live there forever.




(Description from the back cover of trade paperback edition)]]>
453 Sergei Lukyanenko 1401360203 David 4 urban-fantasy, own 4.08 2000 Day Watch (Watch, #2)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: David
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2010/03/02
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: urban-fantasy, own
review:

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Night Watch (Watch, #1) 359375
Set in contemporary Moscow, where shape shifters, vampires, and street-sorcerers linger in the shadows, Night Watch is the first book of the hyper-imaginative fantasy pentalogy from best-selling Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko.

This epic saga chronicles the eternal war of the “Others,� an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who must swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. The agents of the Dark � the Night Watch � oversee nocturnal activity, while the agents of the Light keep watch over the day. For a thousand years both sides have maintained a precarious balance of power, but an ancient prophecy has decreed that a supreme Other will one day emerge, threatening to tip the scales. Now, that day has arrived. When a mid-level Night Watch agent named Anton stumbles upon a cursed young woman � an uninitiated Other with magnificent potential � both sides prepare for a battle that could lay waste to the entire city, possible the world. With language that throbs like darkly humorous hard-rock lyrics about blood and power, freedom and responsibility, Night Watch is a chilling, cutting-edge thriller, a pulse-pounding ride of fusion fiction that will leave you breathless for the next instalment.]]>
455 Sergei Lukyanenko 1401359795 David 5 urban-fantasy, own 4.00 1998 Night Watch (Watch, #1)
author: Sergei Lukyanenko
name: David
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2010/01/31
date added: 2015/10/04
shelves: urban-fantasy, own
review:
The book quickly became one of my favorite science fictions novels. The world painted in these books involving the two factions of "others," the Night Watch (Light Others) and Day Watch (Dark Others) had me glued in the book the whole time. The authors ties in three different stories to give you a much wider and more rich plot experience, while keeping them connect to make a strong and compelling read. The day i finished this book i had to go out and get the next one; i was very satisfied with it and couldn't wait to see where the stories would go. In Night Watch, you immediately connect with Anton and appreciate him as person, an ordinary guy thrown into extraordinary circumstances and how he manages with the unique relationships with fellow Night Watchmen and even his enemies. If your even slightly interested, read it, its worth it. And the movie is good too, though the film is a much more stripped down simpler version.
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